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Books & Sounds

Thu, 01/10/2013 - 18:13 -- abc_admin

The field guide which includes all the species found in Angola is Birds of Africa south of the Sahara by Sinclair and Ryan. The range maps however are not always accurate for Angola and this perhaps reflects the difficulties of birding in this country for the last 30 years.

The excellent west and south African field guides such as Birds of Western Africa by Borrow and Demey and the SASOL Birds of Southern Africa contain many, but not all of the species found in Angola and exclude of course the many endemic species.

Birds of Angola by Dean is a monumental avifauna on an ornithologically neglected country. Angola is rich in bird species and has a range of biomes and ecosystems that are almost unequalled in Africa. This book should be considered and is useful to have available during a visit to Angola.

The Southern African Birdfinder: Where to find 1,400 bird species in southern Africa must rank as one of the best 'Where to' guides for a region. It contains detailed information on sites, clear maps and directions and great photos.

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Book info:

Birds of Africa South of the Sahara, Ian Sinclair & Peter Ryan, New Holland, Softback.

Book description:

Second edition, including 500 new images and 400 updated distribution maps. Unrivalled coverage of African birds in a single volume. 2129+ species covered with an additional 101 vagrants briefly described. Revised to reflect the latest changes in taxonomy. Species descriptions give precise identification features highlighting differences between similar species as well as briefly reporting habitat, status and call. Annotated illustrations portray distinctive plumages as well as diagnostic flight patterns and major geographic variants where applicable.

4th edition. The best field guide to the region with over 200 colour plates and numerous distribution maps. The Southern African region is Botwana, Lesotho, southern Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

This fourth edition has been greatly improved by the addition of group introductions, calendar bars showing species' occurrence and breeding periods, a section on 'how to use this book', as well as sonograms depicting the calls of tricky bird groups. The newly designed plates are meticulously illustrated, with labels pinpointing key differentiating features. Distribution maps show the relative abundance of a species in the region and also indicate resident or migrant status.

Written by top birders, this authoritative and comprehensive identification guide is invaluable to all birders. 464 pages.

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Book info:

Field Guide to the Birds of Western Africa, Nik Borrow & Ron Demey, Helm, Softback.

Book description:

Helm Field Guide. Utilises all the plates from the Helm ID Guide by the same authors, with a concise, authoritative text on facing pages, to create a guide covering all 1,304 species found in the region. The guide also contains an updated colour distribution map for each species and a number of new images have been painted just for this guide. Covers Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Rio Muni, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, part of Mauritania and the islands of Sao Tome, Principe and Bioko (Fernando Po). 512 pages.

2006. The ideal companion to all the local bird field guides. After an introduction to birding in the southern African region, the authors identify and describe more than 330 birding sites and associated birds across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and, the little-documented but increasingly popular, areas of Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. All sites are ranked into one of three categories of priority: essential (the regions best); excellent (top sites but expendable to a time-limited visitor) and local interest (ideal for those looking for new areas to explore). All sites include practical details of access, best times to visit, habitat diversity and general natural history.

Includes a fold-out map of the entire region that features all routes. A quick guide to finding the region's top 100 birds and an annotated checklist conclude the book.

"Written by three of the most experienced birders in the region, they have poured their experience into its production and this really shows in the level of detail and coverage." - Martin Fowlie, BTO.

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Book info:

Birds of Angola, W J R Dean, British Ornithologists Union, Hardback.

Book description:

BOU Checklist 18. 2000. A monumental avifauna on an ornithologically neglected country. Angola is rich in bird species (at least 915) and has a range of biomes and ecosystems that are almost unequalled in Africa. 16 pages of colour plates. 444 pages.

Book image:

Book info:

BOU Checklist 18. 2000. A monumental avifauna on an ornithologically neglected country. Angola is rich in bird species (at least 915) and has a range of biomes and ecosystems that are almost unequalled in Africa. 16 pages of colour plates. 444 pages.